Chapter 1

Amber could tell something was wrong the minute Bill walked through the door. He flopped down in his comfy easy chair and looked at Amber, his wife of nine years.

"Bill, what's wrong?" she asked.

He had a blank stare in his eyes. "Gary and Judy are getting divorced," he said.

A combination of shock and guilt washed over Amber. "What? No that's not possible."

"I know, it doesn't seem like it could happen, but Gary caught her in a motel room fucking another guy, I just can't believe it."

"No," yelled Amber, "but how did he..." She stopped realizing she just let the cat out of the bag.

Bill looked at her again, this time with an accusing look on his face. "How did he what? How did he know? Is that what you were going to say? What do you know about this, Amber? You knew didn't you, you knew she was seeing another guy didn't you?" His anger now deepening.

Gary and Judy were their best friends. Judy and Amber modeled together years ago and became very tight. Their friendship remained and when they both got married they're husbands became friends as well.

For the first time in their marriage Amber saw real anger in her husband's face and it scared her. "Damn!" he yelled. "It isn't enough you made a mockery out of our marriage but you have to destroy our best friend's as well!"

This was the first time Bill had given her any real indication that he knew of his own wife's infidelity. For almost their entire married life she had, had one affair after another.

She was in a state of shock. Hearing about her very best friend getting caught with Pete, (yes, she knew, even encouraged the, one time, fling) now being confronted with her own husband's knowledge of her affairs, was just too much. Amber sat there, just staring into her Bill's face. She couldn't speak, couldn't hardly breath, she just ... stared.

Bill had decided it was enough. He never loved anyone like he loved Amber. He'd lay down his life for her if necessary, but he will no longer lay down his self respect.

Bill went into the bedroom, pulled a suitcase out from under the bed and started packing.

Amber, in the mean time, was still sitting in the chair completely unaware of the things happening around her. Her mind wandered back to those, so called, good old days...

"You know you don't have to do that, Amber."

Amber looked up at her dear friend, Judy Simpson. Judy was a high fashion model on top of her profession with more covers and layouts to her credit than you can count. "Do what?" Amber asked.

"Spread your legs for every photographer you meet," said Judy. "You're a beautiful woman, Amber, and you move as well as any us out there. You don't have to go to bed with every guy in the business to get jobs."

If anyone else had said that to Amber she would have been extremely insulted, but she knew this was true concern coming from a true friend. "I wish I shared your optimism for my modeling career," she said. "But I'm not like you, I have to fight for the work I get and this body is my most potent weapon." She smiled. "I'll see ya later," she said as the handsome, young photographer motioned for her.

Judy watched them leave and thought, there goes one more happy photographer. She smiled at her friend's promiscuous life style. Judy herself wasn't like that. Oh, she loved having fun of course, but in addition to being voted the most beautiful woman in the world by a French magazine, she was also a good business woman with a good head on her shoulders.

Later the night, Amber sat at the bar with her new love interest, the photographer she had just met earlier that afternoon. Amber kept playing Judy's words over and over in her head so she was making him work harder to get between her legs than she normally would. They were both a little tipsy by now and he was getting frustrated and belligerent. It was already after midnight. He had expected to have her in bed long before now.

He grabbed her by the arm. "Look bitch," he said, slurring his words just a little. "Either you go to my place with me now or you can just go fuck yourself for a ride home."

A few stools down the bar was a tall, lean gentleman sipping a vodka and tonic. He had been listening to this guy talk trash to this gorgeous lady for half an hour now and this was the last straw. He raised himself from the stool and walked over.

"Ma'am, is this jack ass bothering you," he asked her. Amber just looked up a little glassy eyed, but with smile on her face.

"Hey, who are you calling a jack ass there, buddy?"

"Well, first I'm not your buddy and second, I only see one jack ass here and that's you, so I must be talking about you." The inebriated photographer had given up on getting laid anyway, so with a bevy of obscene superlatives, he left the bar.

The dashing, young man looked into Amber's face and saw the soul of an angel. "Hi, I'm Bill Meyers," he said.

"Hello Bill Meyers." she said seductively. "I'm Amber. Thanks for chasing that creep away like that. He was really starting to get on my nerves."

"Yeah, I could tell, I'd ask if I could buy you another drink, but I think you've had too many already. How about if I just call you a cab?"

"Ah, I'm not ready to go home yet," she said, "just one more. I'd buy you a drink, but I left my purse in that guy's car."

"Oh Jee, I'm sorry," said Bill apologetically, "Will you be able to get it back, do you think?"

"Oh sure, I'm a model and we're doing a magazine layout together. We still have some more shots to do on Monday. I'll get it back then."

"Yeah but this is only Friday, can you get by that long with out your purse?

This kind gentleman was truly concerned for her well-being. She thought it was sweet. "Yeah, no problem," she said, "If I need anything I can call my friend, you probably know her, Judy Simpson." Amber was proud of her friendship with Judy and never let an opportunity slip by to mention it.

"Ah, Yeah, I think so, I know the name. She's a model too, right?"

Amber smiled, "She is the most famous model there is right now, but enough about her, what do you do Bill Meyers?"

"Well, I'm a sales rep for a software company. In fact that's why I'm here. I'm celebrating, I just landed the job today. I start on Monday."

"Well damn, Bill, that certainly calls for a celebration. Come on, sit down here and buy me another drink."

Against his better judgment, he did just that. After all, when would a guy like him ever get another chance to buy a beautiful woman like this a drink.

Amber did all the talking, Bill was fascinated with her lifestyle. She told him about living in Paris, right over the Moulin Rouge for six months last year. She had been to Greece, Italy, Germany, and the Virgin Islands as well. She had been all over the world in fact, and now, thought Bill, this beautiful creature is sitting on a bar stool next to mine.

About the time Amber came to her New York experiences, the last drink hit her like a ton a bricks and it became very clear she needed to get home. Bill asked the bartender if he knew where she lived. He just shook his head and gave a Bill a wink indicating she was Bill's for the night.

Amber could smell the faint aroma of bacon frying. It was painful to open her eyes and allow the morning light in, but she had to do it. Her head was pounding which was nothing unusual for a Saturday morning. She could feel someone pressing against her back. Oh God, she thought, who did I sleep with now. She turned over to see, not a man's body, but the back of a couch. Where the hell am I, she wondered. It was a little wrinkled, but she realized she was still wearing the short, little dress she had on the night before.

She vaguely remembered the knight in shining armor from the bar. She looked around at the small, but nicely furnished apartment. She figured it had to be his, the guy from last night. Why am I on the couch, she thought, and not in his bed?

She laid there trying to decide if she felt any wetness between her legs. She couldn't. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, reached under her dress and felt between her legs. Her panties were still on. She didn't feel any cum leaking from her pussy. This was strange, she thought. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth to see if she could taste any cum in her mouth ... nothing.

It had to be the guy from last night, her night in shining armor. She didn't remember him bringing her home, but then she didn't remember much of anything after he chased away her rude date. She didn't understand, this guy brought her home with him, but instead of taking her to bed and fucking her, like any normal man would, this guy let her sleep it off on his couch ... and didn't touch her? Who the hell was this guy, Sir Galahad!

She slowly swung her long, shapely legs over the side of the couch and stood up. She looked around and found the door to the bathroom. When she was done on the toilet she looked in the medicine cabinet mirror. Damn, she thought, her make up was in her purse and she remembered her purse was in, what's his names, car. She wished she could freshen up for Sir Galahad, but she looked pretty good, good enough anyway.

She followed her nose to the kitchen. Sure enough. There he was, tall and lean with black, wavy hair, Sir Galahad!

Bill looked over at her with a smile. She was so beautiful he wanted to remember this moment, the time he had a real model in his apartment for breakfast. This would be a memory he would cherish until he was old and gray. "Hi," he said with that smile, "You hungry?"

"I have a question," she said.

"Sure, shoot," not having any idea what that question could be so soon in the morning.

"Are you gay?" she asked.

"Gay, no! Why would you think I'm gay?"

"Well, I don't know a single guy in your position who wouldn't have screwed the hell out me last night."

Bill smiled. "Maybe you're running around with the wrong guys," he said. "Come on, sit down, I have eggs, bacon, and wheat toast with grape jelly. Just like at Denny's."

Amber just shook her head as she sat down to enjoy breakfast. Could this guy be for real, she wondered. Are there really guys like this, or is he one in a million?

After breakfast Amber gave Bill directions for her apartment. She always kept a spare key so she would have no problem getting in. As she got out of his car, Amber turned and asked if he would like to come in. When he declined she asked again, "Are you sure you're not gay? There's nothing wrong with that if you are, it's just a little hard on a girl's ego to be turned down twice in the same day," she said with a smile.

Bill never had much luck with women. He'd had a couple, short term, relationships, but after having his heart broken as both of them ended, he had lost all confidence in himself when it came to the opposite sex. He figured he was probably destined to be a lonely bachelor the rest of his life. He looked up again at, who he perceived to be the loveliest woman on the face of the earth. "Amber, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, you're fun, intelligent, and you live the kind of life I've only read about. It wouldn't take me long to fall in love with you, but I'm just an average, ordinary, hard working guy with no hope of ever actually being with someone like you. I've had my heart ripped out before. I could only imagine the job you could do on it. I do want to thank you though. I will always have that memory of the beautiful, international fashion model gracing my breakfast table."

Amber smiled, threw him a kiss through the car window, then turned to go into her apartment. Bill watched her perfect, pear shaped, ass sway gracefully from one side to the other as she walked away, just like he figured a fashion model's ass would. He stayed long enough to make sure she got into her apartment safely. Then he was on his was back home and to his average, ordinary, mundane life.

The next few months were pretty much normal, at least for a jet-setting fashion model. Amber had worked in New York and L.A. before returning home to Chicago.

Before leaving California, Amber called her friend, Judy to see where she was working. When Judy told her she was also in Chicago they decided Judy would pick her up at the airport. The conversation was lively, as usual, on the way to Amber's apartment. Amber, always the party girl, talked Judy into a night on the town. They went to a nice restaurant to start. This was the first chance the two girls had to slow down a little and really talk.

"Remember the last time we were both here. We did that layout up town," said Amber.

"Yeah, I remember," Judy replied.

"Well, you kind of changed my life that day in the studio."

"I did?" Judy asked a little shocked.

"Yeah, you remember. You told my I didn't have to spread my legs for every guy in the business. Well, I haven't, I mean ... I don't anymore."

"Honey I'm so glad to hear that. You don't have to do that to get work. You're a great model and extremely photogenic. I'll bet you're getting just as many jobs now as you did, aren't you?"

"Actually, Judy, I've been working my buns off. I had so much work in L.A. I could hardly find time to sleep ... by myself I mean." Both girls laughed.

"I am very proud of myself then," Judy remarked. "If I had known you would take my words so seriously, I would have said something a lot sooner."

"Well, I have to be honest, it wasn't only your words," said Amber, "Remember when I went out that day with the guy who was shooting the layout?"

"Sure," Judy said.

"Well, he got to be a real drag that night. He was pissed because I had decided I wasn't going to sleep with him. He was starting to get really mean when this guy came over. He was kind of cute. Anyway, he stood up for me. I've never had anyone do that for me before. Then, and you're not going to believe this, I got drunk so he took me home with him..."

Judy interrupted her, "Oh I believe it," she said laughing.

"No wait, he took me home, laid me down on his couch, and let me sleep it off without laying a hand me. Do you believe that? A gentleman, a real gentleman in this day and age, in this city? I couldn't believe it. Anyway, he kind of showed me there are other kinds of guys out there too."

"So," Judy asked, "have you seen this guy since then?"

"Sir Galahad."

"What?" Judy asked.

"Sir Galahad," Amber said, "that's what I call him. No, I haven't. We finished that shoot that Monday and by Tuesday night I was in New York. I don't even remember his name ... Bill something. I think I remember where he lives though. I wouldn't mind seeing him again. I really liked him."

"Okay, you want to hear something else you're not going to believe?" Judy asked.

"Sure, what's up?" Amber looked at her friend with a precious, little grin.

"I met a guy too," said Judy.

For the first time since Judy had known her, Amber was speechless. She just looked at Judy. She looked into Judy's eyes and saw something she had never seen before. "You're serious, aren't you, your serious about him," she said.

"Yup! Amber wait till you meet him. He's wonderful. He's tall and handsome, personable and funny, he's the whole package. We've been dating now for about six weeks. Amber, I've never felt like this about anyone before ... I think I'm in love," she said with a great big smile on her face.

Amber was truly happy for her friend, and maybe a little jealous. "Judy that's fantastic," she said. "So, tell me more, who is he? What does he do for a living?"

"His name is Gary Asher and you're going to laugh when I tell you what he does for a living."

"Please don't tell me he's a salesman for a software company," Amber said.

Judy looked at her a little strange. "No, he's a photographer."

Amber started to laugh, almost hysterically. "You opened your legs for a photographer?" she said, a little too loudly.

"Shhhhhh," Judy hushed her, then joined her laughing. The two best friends laughed and giggled the rest of the night together. Amber told Judy everything she could remember about Sir Galahad and Judy gave Amber all the details of every date she had been on with her new boyfriend.

By the end of the evening they were both pretty well sloshed. A nice bartender called a cab for the pretty ladies around closing time and both sacked out in Amber's apartment.

The next morning they continued to talk over some fresh brewed coffee. Judy confessed that, even though she had been offered several jobs in Europe over the last few weeks, she preferred to stay in Chicago so she wouldn't be away from Gary.

The more Judy talked about Gary, the more Amber thought about Bill, or what ever his name was. The truth be told, she had actually thought about him quite a bit. She thought about him when she was in New York; she thought about him when she was in Los Angeles, and she had been thinking a lot about him now that she was back in Chicago.